The name Alex Katz immediately conjures up images of sharply silhouetted faces, figures and landscapes painted on gigantic canvases — bold compositions of fresh, bright colors that feel clean and crisp on 10- or 12-foot canvases.
So, it is a surprise to discover an entirely different side of Katz in the drawing exhibition “Alex Katz | Out of Sight” at Colby College Museum of Art. Skillfully organized by Colby Museum Curator Kiko Aebi, the exhibition is a thoroughly engaging collection of roughly eighty works on paper, some as small as postcards, dating from the 1940s through the 1990s. The range of drawings offer a view into how his creative sensibilities developed over time.
Drawing is defined broadly here. It encompasses the usual graphite and charcoal and ink and even includes paint when used as a preparatory drawing. These are accompanied by a handful of related paintings, also relatively small in scale. The drawings are unpretentious and provide insight into the workings of Katz’s evolving vision.
As the title “Out of Sight” suggests, the exhibition focuses on a side of Katz’s work that we do not normally see. The title is also a play on words. The 1960s phrase “out of sight” or “outtasight” is still used by Katz to mean something terrific — which this show definitely is.